Parliament Question: IRCTC Convenience Fees on Online Railway Ticket

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5460 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 IRCTC CONVENIENCE FEES ON ONLINE RAILWAY TICKET 5460. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that passengers booking tickets online through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) are being charged convenience fees/service charges despite the fully automated process and if so, the details thereof; (b) the reasons for levy and retention of such charges when tickets booked under normal/Tatkal quotas are auto-cancelled due to waitlist status; (c) the justification for retaining these charges in system-driven auto- cancellations when the passenger is not at fault and the service is not rendered; (d) the total amount collected as convenience fees, clerical charges and service charges during the last financial year and the current financial year to till date along with separate details for normal/Tatkal bookings; and (e) whether the Government proposes to waive/refund such charges in cases of auto- cancellation and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e) Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has provided the facility to book reserved tickets online saving passengers from the trouble of going to reservation counters to book the tickets thus saving travel time and transportation costs. § Page 1 of 2IRCTC incurs substantial expenditure on providing online ticketing facility and in order to defray the cost incurred in maintenance, upgradation and expansion of ticketing infrastructure, a very nominal convenience fee is levied by IRCTC. The online ticket booking facility provided by IRCTC is one of the most passenger friendly initiatives of Indian Railways and its acceptance can be gauged from the fact that at present approximately 88% of the reserved tickets are booked online. Clerkage is levied on cancellation of all waitlisted tickets including cancelled through IRCTC website as per the Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Tickets and Refund of Fare) Rules, 2015, notified through Gazette notification and as amended from time to time. Review and rationalization of policy is a continuous and ongoing process. ***** Page 2 of 2